FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Western Oregon men's basketball team suffered their first loss of the 2019-20 season on Thursday as they began Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 72-66 loss to the Alaska Nanooks at the Patty Center.

Cold 3-point shooting ailed Western Oregon (5-1, 0-1 GNAC) throughout the night, going just 3-for-17 from beyond the arc to contribute to the disintegration of a 16-point lead. It was the lowest 3-point percentage the Wolves have had this year and the first time they have dropped below 33 percent from deep in a game.

Both sides were able to hold multi-possession leads in the first half, but a quiet offensive close to the period by Alaska (2-7, 1-0 GNAC) cost them the halftime lead. Western went on an 8-0 run after trailing by one with 3:24 remaining in the first half to lead 38-31 at the break.

Four players registered double figures in scoring for Western Oregon, led by the 17 points of Dalven Brushier. The senior was 6-for-14 from the field with four rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Western came out of the locker room poised to put the game away, going on an 11-2 run to push their lead out to 16 within the first six minutes of the second half. Scoring fell cold for the Wolves, however. The Nanooks powered out a 24-6 run over the next eight minutes to take their first lead of the second half on a Jalon McCullough three, making it 57-55 in favor of UAF with under seven minutes to play. The Nanooks did not trail again in the game.

Alaska relied on a combined 46 points between Shadeed Shabazz and Mawich Kachjaani, 27 of which came from Shabazz. The pair shot 16-for-22 from the field with Kachjaani scoring 11 of his 19 points at the free throw line.

Cameron Cranston added 15 points to Western Oregon's offense, going 5-for-9 from the field for his second-highest scoring night of the year.

Jaquan Horne got his first significant time since returning from injury, playing 14 minutes and scoring all five of WOU's bench points. They would be out-paced 22-5 in reserve scoring.

"Tonight, I felt like our energy level and attention to detail was not where it needed to be for 40 minutes," said Western Oregon head coach Wes Pifer. "Opening up conference play on the road like this is disappointing."

It was the first win for the Nanooks over the Wolves since Feb. 18, 2016, when they defended their home court with an 87-78 win and only their second victory over Western since 2014. It was Western's first conference-opening loss since the 2013-14 season when they fell by one point to Western Washington on the road.

"We'll watch the film and correct some things," added Pifer. "The most important thing is we learn from this game and get better."

Next up, the Wolves close out their week by taking on the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves Saturday, Dec. 7. Tipoff is set for 6:15 p.m. PST at the Alaska Airlines Center.